MPI Being Taken to a New Level

Sports Psychology Commentary – John F. Murray, PhD – December 14, 2013 – Two years after publishing my book “The Mental Performance index: Ranking the Best Teams in Super Bowl History” with the exciting news that mental skills matter, and that when you analyze the top 37 football performance statistics available including my newly developed MPI, the MPI correlates with winning higher than any other, there is some new buzz in the works.

“In the past couple months,” says Dr. Murray, “I’ve began looking at the MPI as a viable means of possibly predicting what might happen in future games, and the initial statistical analyses are encouraging.” While Murray never intended the Mental Performance Index to be used for prediction, he realized that the strong correlations with winning (as high as .81 statistically) could simply no longer be ignored, and he has begun that long arduous process of pilot testing to determine how well it predicts.

“I enjoy football as a fan and as a consultant to teams and players, and now I’m beginning to realize that the MPI’s clarity in accurately rating both mental and physical team performance might have some other interesting uses. Stay tuned for the developing excitement!